The Music of Poland covers diverse aspects of music and musical traditions which have originated, and are practiced in Poland. Artists from Poland include world-famous classical composers like Frédéric Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Górecki and Krzysztof Penderecki; renowned pianists like Karl Tausig, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Arthur Rubinstein and Krystian Zimerman; as well as popular music artists, and traditional, regionalised folk music ensembles that create a rich and lively music scene at the grassroots level. The musicians of Poland, over the course of history, have developed and popularized a variety of music genres and folk dances such as mazurka, polonaise, krakowiak, kujawiak, polska partner dance, oberek; as well as the sung poetry genre and others. Mazurek (Mazur), Krakowiak, Kujawiak, Oberek and Polonaise (Polonez) are registered as Polish National Dances, originating in early Middle Ages. The oldest of them is Polonaise that comes from the Medieval pageant dances and it was originally called "chodzony", a "walking dance".
Holidays in Poland are regulated by the Non-working Days Act of 18 January 1951. The Act, as amended in 2010, currently defines thirteen public holidays.
Myslovitz is a Polish rock band. The band take their name from their industrial hometown of Mysłowice in the Upper Silesia region of southern Poland.
Edyta Małgorzata Bartosiewicz is a Polish rock singer, composer, and songwriter. In Poland, she's known for her highly reflective and unusual lyrics. Sixteen of her singles reached the top of Polish Radio charts. Over the course of her musical career, she has received five Fryderyk Awards – the most important recognition in the Polish music industry.
The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the US Grammy and British BRIT Award. Officially created in 1994 and presented for the first time in 1995, the award was initially conferred by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Since 1999, nominees and winners have been selected by a body called Phonographic Academy which by now consists of nearly 1000 artists, journalists and music industry professionals. Voting is anonymous and takes place in two rounds: In the first round, all Academy members can nominate five artists in each category, in the second round, members can vote for one candidate in each category from the most successful nominees established in the first round.
The International Chopin Piano Competition, often referred to as the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition held in Warsaw, Poland. It was initiated in 1927 and has been held every five years since 1955. It is one of the few competitions devoted entirely to the works of a single composer, in this case, Frédéric Chopin. The competition is currently organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
2 Plus 1 were a Polish band performing pop and folk music, and, in the later period of their activity, also synthpop and rock. They were founded in 1971 by Janusz Kruk and Elżbieta Dmoch. The band recorded ten studio albums, three of which have been certified Gold in Poland, and established such evergreen hits as "Chodź, pomaluj mój świat", "Windą do nieba" and "Iść w stronę słońca". They have won a number of local and international awards, and performed in countries around the world, such as Germany, the Soviet Union, the United States, Canada and Cuba. 2 Plus 1 enjoyed their biggest popularity in the 1970s, but remained successful into the mid-1980s. In addition, the band achieved notable success in Western Europe and Japan with the songs "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Singapore". The end of 2 Plus 1's activity was marked by the death of Janusz Kruk in 1992. A successful, but short lived reunion took place at the end of the 1990s. 2 Plus 1 remain one of the most successful bands in the history of Polish popular music, and their musical legacy still proves influential in Poland.
Natalia Maria Kukulska is a Polish singer performing pop and R&B music, turning towards alternative electronica in the 2010s. She debuted as a child singer in 1986, and released her first "adult" solo album in 1996. Her most popular songs include "Dłoń", "Piosenka światłoczuła", "Im więcej ciebie tym mniej", "W biegu", "Tyle słońca w całym mieście" and "Wierność jest nudna". She has sold over 1.8 million albums as of 2014.
Michał Urbaniak is a Polish jazz musician who plays violin, lyricon, and saxophone. His music includes elements of folk music, rhythm and blues, hip hop, and symphonic music.
Maksymilian Dionizy Gierymski was a Polish painter, specializing mainly in watercolours. He was the older brother of painter Aleksander Gierymski.
Antoni Wit is a Polish conductor, composer, lawyer and professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. Between 2002 and 2013, he served as the artistic director of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.
Anna Jantar-Kukulska was a Polish singer and the mother of singer Natalia Kukulska. She is considered an icon of Polish pop music, and also one of the popular and famous Polish singers of the 1970s.
Katarzyna Magdalena Rooijens, professionally known as Kayah, is a Polish singer-songwriter performing a variety of music genres, including pop, soul, jazz, world and dance. She has also experimented with disco, funk, electronica as well as Balkan and Jewish music.
Although Frédéric Chopin is best known for his works for piano solo, among his extant output are 19 songs for voice and piano, set to Polish texts.
Jamal is a Polish raggamuffin, reggae and dancehall music group from Radom. At various times, it included members Gienia, Księżyc, LUU, EMZK and Siekierka.
Aga Zaryan is a Polish jazz vocalist and the first Polish musician to sign with Blue Note Records.
Maciej Zielinski is the award-winning Polish composer, arranger and music producer, known for his contemporary classical and film scores, songs and original television music. His contemporary classical music has been awarded at 8 composers’ contests, including two international competitions and it was performed at many international festivals, including the Warsaw Autumn Festival and ISCM World Music Days. He has written scores for popular Polish movies and for independent US productions. In 2019 he received "Best Score" award at the "New Filmmakers LA Awards" in Los Angeles and nomination for "Crystal Pine Award" at the International Sound and Film Music Festival in Croatia. In 2016, 2017, and 2020 he received nominations for the Polish Film Academy Award - "Eagle" in "Best Music" category. In 2012 he was nominated for "Fryderyk" – the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry in the category "Composer of the Year". His music has been released on nearly 30 albums.
Marek Biliński is a Polish composer of electronic music.
Natalia Nykiel is a Polish singer and songwriter. She began her career in 2013, finishing in fourth place on season two of The Voice of Poland. Afterwards, she signed a record deal with Universal Music Polska, and released her debut studio album Lupus Electro (2014). The album's second single "Bądź duży" has been certified diamond by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry and established Nykiel as a household name in Poland. Its success was followed by the release of the single "Error", which was also certified diamond and became Nykiel's first chart-topping hit in Poland. Her second studio album Discordia was released in 2017, followed by the 2019 EP Origo, which earned her the Fryderyk award.
Igor Jankowski – Polish-Belarusian composer, teacher and music activist.
